"Food for me was a connecting link to my grandmother, to my childhood, to my past. And what I found out is that for everybody, food is a connector to their roots, to their past in different ways. It gives you security; it gives you a profile of who you are, where you come from." - Lidia Matticchio Bastianich

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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

In spite of my obsession with collecting family recipes, I sometimes shy away from recipes which appear too complicated. So whenever my MIL sent a container of these delicious "puris", I always assumed this is one complicated recipe and never asked her the recipe. She always told me to try it as it's very straightforward and simple. Recently, I got a chance to see how she makes it and really, how foolish I was assuming that it's a complicated recipe. So I not only noted down the recipe but baked it myself. I can't believe I ignored it for so long. This is one of the world's simplest cookie recipe for sure. MIL says that we can also make peanuts puris substituting peanuts for cashews. I think, almonds may work too?

These Kaju ni Puris are wrapped in yellow gelatin paper in a cylinder shape and sold in the dry fruit stores around Diwali time in Mumbai. Do give it a try and you will be surprised to see how easy they are to make.

Kaju ni Puri - (18 count)

Butterless, Flourless Cashew Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups raw, unsalted cashews, powdered

1 cup powdered sugar

5 cardamoms, peeled & powdered

1/4 tsp saffron threads

3 tbsp milk (use as needed)

Method

0. Preheat oven 350 F

1. Powder the cashews without turning them into butter.

2. Take the cashew powder in a paraat or big plate. Add sugar, cardamom powder, saffron threads. Using milk as needed - just a spoonful at a time, knead to a dough.

3. Make 18 or so balls. Flatten them with your hand like small puries as shown below

4. Bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes.5. Let the cookies cool down. Store in an airtight container.

Note -

1. My MIL also makes peanut cookies using roasted, unsalted peanuts. I think, almonds or other nuts may work too, but I haven't tried them with other nuts as yet.

2. Since cashews or all nuts have oil, it helps to bind the dough. So use milk very carefully.

3. I used fat-free milk.

4. I used Reynolds' nonstick aluminum foil for baking.

5. Depending on the size of the puris, the count will vary. I got 18 puris or cookies from this recipe. Remember to make small puris as they expand after baking.

6. If you like a bite of cardamom seeds, you can crush them coarsely instead of powdering.